


... i'll protect you from your dreams

by liquorisce



Series: kyoru week 2020 [2]
Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hugs, Kyoru Week, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:49:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26887639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liquorisce/pseuds/liquorisce
Summary: some nights when kyo is fragile, he seeks comfort in tohru’s arms.or“I dreamt I couldn’t be with you,” he murmurs, quietly, unsure if Tohru was still awake. “... that you would choose someone else.”
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou
Series: kyoru week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958215
Comments: 8
Kudos: 58





	... i'll protect you from your dreams

_Everything feels different._

“... Well, I hope it fits you. I have to admit, you are a bit, uhm, _thinner_ than I accounted for.” 

“It’s fine,” he says, and it comes out as a rasp, and his voice sounds different to his own ears, different without the echo of the small, dark room. It feels strange almost, the faint chill of the breeze against his arm, the burn of the sun on his face. 

“Here, got you lunch... in case you were hungry.”

Kyo squints at the paper bag, daylight far too bright for his ill-adjusted eyes as he carefully unwraps the burger he was presented with. When was the last time he’d eaten food that wasn’t prepared in the Sohma kitchen? 

“... Maybe we should just sit in my room?” 

Kyo nods, looking over at the soft voice that was speaking to him. Never had he imagined that 5 years into isolation, the first person he would greet in the fresh, open air... would be _Yuki_. 

* * *

Yuki gestures for Kyo to sit on the bed and he does, sinking into the mattress, the plush type that the rat boy had always had a taste for. 

He’s silent and the only noise in the room is the crunch of the burger in Kyo’s mouth. “I asked them to leave out the onions,” Yuki says with a grin. 

Kyo offers one in return, but it’s feeble. Everything feels feeble about him, now that he’s stepped into the outside world. 

There’s more silence, and Kyo finishes his meal, grateful to have eaten something different. “... I guess I should probably try that on, huh,” he mumbles, eyeing the black suit that Yuki had laid out for him. 

Yuki eyes him hesitantly. “... A shower, first. And a shave. It’s a wedding, not a funeral.” 

He cringes visibly, not that he needed reminding of the occasion. He’d had months, weeks and days to prepare for this, with little else to do in his chamber of darkness, except sit with his thoughts. 

It seemed simple in theory, he thinks, as the warm jet of water hits him. It wasn’t a shocking revelation that they would come to this day. He’d been preparing for it since his final year of high school. 

He takes in his reflection, and realizes that Yuki is right. He _had_ grown thinner. His cheekbones showed so clearly, you couldn’t just call them defined anymore, it was definitely jutting. Sighing, he lifted the razor to his cheeks. 

_“The new look suits you, Kyo-kun,” she’d said with a shy smile when she’d first seen his beard._

How long ago was that? A year after his confinement? She was probably just being _nice_ , he thinks bitterly as he shaves it off completely. 

(He doesn’t _want_ to think of her bitterly. He has no right.)

“Some people are just blessed,” Yuki quips, as he walks out of the bathroom, towel at his hips. “... even at your worst, you still have more ab definition than I do.” 

Kyo smiles weakly. “... Still couldn’t beat you if I tried.” 

Their interactions had changed so much, he wonders what his young self would think if he’d see them today. If only he knew that the boy who he’d spent his whole life hating would be the one visiting him every other weekend, sneaking in treats, bringing him word from the others... arguing with Akito to make sure he was allowed outside, just for today.

He slips on the white shirt, thankful that he doesn’t drown in it. Yet. 

“... Hey, Kyo.” Yuki’s tone betrays his worry, and Kyo isn’t ready for it yet. He isn’t ready to talk about these feelings that haven’t left him since he first heard the news. 

“... Are you sure you want to do this?” 

“I promised her,” he mutters, so many years ago, on the rooftop, a precious memory that she’s probably forgotten, but he just can’t seem to. 

“I _know_ , but she’ll understand. This must be… difficult for you. You don’t have to put yourself through this,” - 

“... I said I’d support her!” 

He’s taken aback by his own outburst, but that’s the truth of it. It’s a promise he’d made to her, the love of his life, when they were young and seventeen and he’d already realized that this was all he could do. He’d support her love no matter what. No matter who. 

But it was also a promise he’d made to himself, the last precious memory he is holding on to before he truly gives up. 

But no amount of preparation or self pep talks comes to his aid when he sees her walk in, long flowing dress in peach pink, veiled, with Hanajima and Uotani by her side. His mind is blank first because the immensity of what he is witnessing is too much for him. 

When he said goodbye to her 5 years ago and she cried for him, embraced him in the only way that was awkwardly possible, it was _him_ walking away. It was a future he’d spent his whole life running away from, but when he went inside, it was still him who left. 

But when he sees her, sees _Tohru_ , beautiful and radiant, just like he remembered her, but somehow _so much more_ , it’s brutal because this time it’s _her_ walking, only walking down the aisle. Towards someone _else_. 

He’d never thought his heart could break a second time, but it did and it’s worse because he’d never paid attention to this ugly, painful, thing called _hope_ that had tried desperately to glue the pieces together - and it crushes him. 

Kyo is standing on the corner of the aisle, and as Tohru comes closer, he can feel himself splintering inside. 

“... Kyo-kun,” she says, her voice quivering. It takes a moment for him to realize that she’s stopped in front of him, that she’s standing barely two steps away from him, and she hasn’t been this close in years… 

When he looks up to see her, he’s shocked to see a stricken look on her beautiful features. “Kyo-kun,” she gasps, worried, “what are you doing here?” 

“... Why aren’t you up there?” 

“Hana-chan, Uo-chan, who is that?” She asks, frantic, pointing to the man in the black suit at the altar. “Why is Kyo-kun not standing at the altar like we practiced?”

“Tohru…” 

“Kyo-kun,” she cries, reaching for his face, “What happened to you? You look so different… so sad…” 

Tears are streaming down his face, and the feeling in his chest tightens as she throws her arms around him whispering, “Kyo-kun, come back to me…”

“Tohru, no,” he rasps, afraid because there’s so many people around - he can’t afford to transform, but he can’t shake her off. “Please, I,” - 

He wakes up heaving, sweat and tears running down his face. The sadness, the pain… it’s visceral, gripping at his chest. 

And Tohru - God, she was crying too, scared, worried tears, holding on to him, like she’d never let go. 

It’s then that he takes note of the arm entwined with his, on the futon.

He curses softly when he sees her, relief overwhelming him, when he sees her brown hair spread across the sheets, her mouth parted blissfully in her slumber. 

He is overcome with the urge to hold her, and so he does, loosening his arm from her hold and wrapping himself around her, so close that her smell drives away the remnants of his nightmare. 

“Mmm,” she mumbles, stirring, “... Kyo..?”

“Sorry,” he whispers into her hair, “... I didn’t mean to wake you up.” 

“... You’re so warm,” she giggles, but she stops short when she feels something wet on her neck. 

She stiffens, alarmed. “... Kyo-kun?” 

His hold tightens and she sinks into it, clutching his arm tightly. “You’re trembling… what’s wrong?” 

She can hear his breathing, rough, panicked. “Tohru… _Please…_ ” 

“Kyo-kun, what is it? Did you have a bad dream?” She turns towards him, cradling his face. 

“... Hold me, _please_ ,” he whispers, and she does tightly, letting him burrow his face into her chest, caressing his back softly.

When his breathing calms, and his sobs have quietened, he realises how shaken he was by the picture in his head. 

“I dreamt I couldn’t be with you,” he murmurs, quietly, unsure if Tohru was still awake. “... that I would be locked up... that you would choose someone else,” - 

“ _Never_.” Her grip tightens around him. 

She kisses his forehead softly, wiping away the dampness on his cheeks, trying her best to stop her own tears from falling. Things have changed now, and mistakes have been forgiven, but the damage it’s done could never be undone. 

And with Kyo fragile in her arms tonight, she’s not sure that it’s something she’ll ever forgive. 

So she vows to protect it, the fragility of his heart, the wounds he desperately tries to hide, the love he so freely showers upon her. 

“Don’t you know, Kyo-kun,” she whispers gently against his mouth, “... I’d never have let them take you away from me.”

_\- fin -_

**Author's Note:**

> hmu @liquorisce.tumblr.com


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